What Have We Learned?

Eph 4:11-16  And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  ESV


The ministries that are specifically mentioned in this passage of Scripture all involve proclaiming, preaching and teaching the Word of God.  The purpose for doing so is the building up of the body of Christ. We desperately need godly preaching and teaching because without it we'll remain immature, children who are easily deceived by all manner of teachings that come along.

With good teaching of truth, members of the body of Christ can grow up and become equipped to do what God wants us to do. They are no longer limited to doing what they feel like doing and guess might be OK things to do.

All children need to learn. What they learn can make all the difference in what sort of lives they lead as they grow up. If all they learn is to do is whatever they feel like doing, or what is "acceptable" to the current standards off society, they will remain childishly immature in regards to godly living.

Even Christians can be severely stunted in their ability to be a follower of Christ. Those who fail to learn and apply what is in Scripture can be drawn away by things that sound right but are actually at best only imitations of the truth of God.

There was a time in America that the Bible was a standard textbook in schools. Even before then, the pilgrims who settled in Plymouth taught their children to read so they would be able to read the Bible and learn from it. But now children grow into adulthood without ever reading or being taught what is in the Bible. Therefore there are many adults who are still infants or even babies in regard to their understanding of what God wants us to know in Scripture.

Today there  are countless Bibles available to people, yet all too few people seek to gain a clear knowledge of what is in them. Many who do want to hear more about the Bible include in their learning efforts the teachings of popular TV preachers and book writers who say clever things which sound great but actually twist the meanings of Scripture passages. Those Christians can think they are becoming mature, when in fact they may just be dressing up to look (at  least to themselves) like they have become grown up disciples of Jesus.

Just because preachers, writers, or teachers are popular does not mean that what they say is true to the Word of God even if they quote Scripture repeatedly to "prove" what they teach. We need to be diligent to both examine what they teach ourselves, and also find out what other respected Bible teachers have to say in regards to their teachings.

The quantity of what we learn is not the key to maturity. Both in the first centuries of the Church and now there has been an abundance of false teachings to get Christians going in wrong directions in there lives. We need to be sure that what we learn is what is true to the Word of God as intended by those inspired by the Holy Spirit to write it down for us learn. Only then will be able to fulfill the verse of Scripture that I'll use to conclude this blog post.:

1 Thes 4:1  Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. ESV

Do We Really Need Bible Teaching?

1Jn 2:27  But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. ESV

Would you look at that Bible verse? Wow. It says right there in the Bible that "you have no need that anyone should teach you."  It goes on to say "But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie -- just as it has taught you, abide in Him."

Amazing. I guess I could take that to mean I don't need preachers and teachers to help me understand Scripture. Or even about anything else, since it says that His anointing teaches about everything. I could take that to mean I can let the "anointing" teach me everything I need to know.

Well, I could take that verse to mean what I just suggested, or I could take a closer look at the context of that verse to see whether I'm jumping to conclusions just to satisfy my self-centered ambitions. To start with I guess I could read the verse immediately preceding the one I quoted above.

1Jn 2:26  I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. ESV

Ah! Apparently there is "teaching" that we don't need. Teaching from those who are trying to deceive us. We don't need deceivers to come along and teach us things that are contrary to the truth that is found in Scripture. This portion of Scripture known as 1 John, and all the rest of Scripture, is sound teaching that is vital to grow in our understanding of God and His will. But when somebody comes along and tries to add something new to it an alarm should go off inside us to warn us "Wait a Minute -- That's not in accordance with the God breathed Word of God!"

But do we need others to teach us about what is in  the Bible? Can we or should we go it alone in learning Scripture? Do we need the help of anybody other than ourselves to grow in our understanding of the Word of God?

Well, what does the Word of say about that? In Paul's first letter to Timothy we can read:

  1 Tim 4:13  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ESV

 1 Tim 5:17  Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.  ESV

 These verses along with other Scripture passages make it clear that God wants us to have good preaching and teaching. God has a lot to say to us in His written Word, and God provides teachers to help us learn.those truths. The body of Christ has many different members, some of whom are gifted helpers or leaders, and some of whom are gifted teachers.

What we don't need are teachers who either distort Scripture or add to it. They are deceivers and we all need to take care to be on the watch for them. What they say can sound wonderful which is why so many people get deceived by such false teachings.

How can we be protected from deceptive teachers? Well, spending time reading and studying the Bible is important. When we have Biblical Spirit inspired truth in us we become more sensitive to recognizing when the Holy Spirit is alerting us to false teaching.

We also should avail ourselves of the preachers and teachers who are true to the sound doctrines of the Bible. God says they are worthy of double honor, and one way we honor them is by taking the time to listen and learn from them.

Do we really need Bible Teaching? Yes, indeed, we really do.